Three days after the nebula, Ren still couldn't turn off the silver fragment.
It wasn't like the others. They had settled into his core, found their places, learned to work together. The silver fragment was different. It kept showing him things. Possibilities. Paths. Every choice he made branched into a dozen others, and he could see them all.
It was exhausting.
"You look terrible," Aiko observed, sliding into the seat beside him in the galley.
"Thanks."
"No, I mean it. You look really terrible. Like you haven't slept in days."
"I haven't."
"Because of the new fragment?"
Ren nodded. He didn't have the energy to explain.
Aiko was quiet for a moment. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small device. She pressed a button, and soft music filled the galley. Something slow. Calming.
"What's this?"
"Music. From my home world. My mom used to play it when I couldn't sleep." She leaned back, closing her eyes. "Just listen. Don't think."
Ren wanted to argue. Wanted to explain that he couldn't stop thinking, that the silver fragment wouldn't let him. But the music was soft and warm, and Aiko was quiet beside him, and for the first time in days, the endless branching paths faded.
He slept.
When he woke, someone had put a blanket over him.
The galley was empty. The music had stopped. But there was food on the table, still warm, and a note in his mother's handwriting.
Gone to check the navigation data. Aiko's in the engine room. Eat something. Love you.
Ren smiled tiredly and ate.
The food helped. So did the sleep. The silver fragment was still there, still showing him possibilities, but it felt manageable now. Like a tool instead of a burden.
He found Sara in the cockpit, staring at a holographic display with an expression he didn't like.
"What's wrong?"
She didn't answer right away. Just kept staring at the display.
"Mom?"
"We're being followed."
Ren's blood went cold. He moved to her side, looking at the readings. There. A faint signature. Small. Fast. Staying just at the edge of their sensor range.
"How long?"
"Three hours. Maybe four. I only noticed it because it got too close." She pointed at the display. "See that? It's matching our course changes. Staying exactly the same distance. That's not coincidence."
"One ship?"
"One that we can see. Could be more we can't."
Ren closed his eyes. The silver fragment blazed, showing him possibilities. Dozens of them. Who was following them. Why. What they wanted.
The most likely path was clear.
"They're hunters," he said quietly. "Sent by someone. Maybe the Twelve. Maybe one of the empires. They've been tracking us since the nebula."
"How do you know?"
"The fragment. I can see the patterns. The probabilities." He opened his eyes. "They're good. Really good. They've been following us for days without us noticing."
"Can we lose them?"
Ren considered the possibilities. Ran through a dozen scenarios. Each one ended the same way.
"No. They're too fast. Too skilled. If we run, they'll catch us eventually." He looked at his mother. "We have to fight."
Sara's face hardened. "Then we fight."
They spent the next hour preparing.
Aiko upgraded the ship's weapons systems on the fly, coaxing more power from the MILTONS core. Sara plotted escape routes in case things went wrong. Ren sat in meditation, letting the silver fragment show him every possible outcome of the coming battle.
When the hunters finally dropped their stealth and accelerated toward them, he was ready.
"Three ships," Aiko announced. "Small. Fast. Heavily armed."
"Military?"
"Private. Mercenaries. The best money can buy." She swallowed. "Ren, these are the kind of people who hunt warships for fun."
"Then we need to be better."
The first attack came without warning.
Energy bolts slammed into the Starfire's shields, lighting up the cockpit with alarms. The ship shuddered violently, throwing everyone against their restraints.
"Shields at eighty percent!" Aiko shouted.
"Return fire!" Sara's hands moved across the controls, targeting the nearest ship.
The Starfire's weapons blazed. The hunter ship dodged easily, its pilot laughing over an open channel.
"Nice try, little ship. But you'll have to do better than that."
Ren closed his eyes. The silver fragment showed him the pattern. The hunter's movements. Its next three evasive maneuvers. Its weak points.
"Fire now," he said quietly.
Sara fired.
The energy bolt caught the hunter exactly where its shields were weakest. The ship exploded in a ball of light.
Silence on the channel. Then:
"That was luck."
"No," Ren murmured. "It wasn't."
The remaining two hunters attacked together, coordinating their fire, trying to overwhelm the Starfire's shields. Ren saw every move before they made it. Every shot before it came.
"Left. Now. Dive."
Sara followed his directions without question. The ship twisted and turned, dodging shots that should have hit, firing at moments that seemed random but always connected.
The second hunter exploded.
The third tried to run.
"Don't let it escape," Ren said. "If it reports back—"
Sara fired. The third ship died.
Silence.
Just the hum of the Starfire's engines and the ringing in everyone's ears.
Aiko let out a breath she'd been holding for minutes. "That was... that was incredible. How did you know where to shoot? How to dodge?"
"The silver fragment." Ren opened his eyes. "I could see everything. Every move they were going to make."
"That's terrifying."
"That's useful." Sara was already checking for more threats. "Are there others? Any more hunters?"
Ren reached out with his power. The fragments pulsed, searching the surrounding space.
"No. Just these three."
"Then we need to move. Now. Before whoever sent them realizes they failed."
The Starfire jumped to warp, leaving the debris behind.
They didn't stop running for three days.
Every time Ren's vision showed a safe moment, Sara pushed them further. Deeper into empty space. Away from trade routes. Away from civilization.
On the third day, they finally slowed.
"We've lost them," Ren said. "Whoever sent those hunters, they don't know where we are now."
"For how long?" Aiko asked.
"A while. Weeks, maybe. Months if we're careful."
Sara sat back, exhaustion written on her face. "Then we need to use that time. Find the next fragment before they find us again."
Ren nodded. The silver fragment was already showing him possibilities. The next fragment's location. The dangers waiting there. The paths to success.
"There's a planet," he said slowly. "In a system called Dorath. The ninth fragment is there."
"What kind of planet?"
"Dead. Destroyed in an ancient war. But something survived. A structure. Underground." He frowned, the possibilities shifting. "There's something else too. Other people. Hunters like the ones who attacked us. They're looking for the same thing."
"Then we need to get there first."
"Yes." Ren stood. "Set course for Dorath. Maximum speed."
The Starfire changed course, heading toward the next piece of the puzzle.
Nine fragments.
Three to go.
And the hunters were getting closer.
END OF CHAPTER 18